The exploits of mighty-thewed, sword-wielding heroes and their thiefly, wizardly and/or priestly companions, as they [[InHarmsWay spend their days]] smiting evil, fighting monsters, recovering treasures and quaffing ale.

Tends to be distinguishable from HighFantasy by its scale -- the problems are generally those of the hero, not the world -- and moral standards -- absolute evil and absolute good make fewer appearances. (Well, absolute good makes fewer. Absolute evil, in the form of a ReligionOfEvil or the like, makes a convenient foe.)

Heavily influenced by TheHerosJourney, the [[KingArthur Arthurian]] cycle, the ''ConanTheBarbarian'' stories and movies, the game ''DungeonsAndDragons'', and classical myth.

Sometimes set in a world that looks an awful lot like medieval Europe, although it can range all the way back to a "forgotten prehistory" such as in ''ConanTheBarbarian'', or even the "classical" period (ancient Greece, Mesopotamia, etc.), as found in ''[[XenaWarriorPrincess Xena: Warrior Princess]]'' (this variant is sometimes called "Sword and Sandal"). May involve {{Mythopoeia}}.

Sometimes it can be found in the future, often in AfterTheEnd setting; sometimes it comes close to PlanetaryRomance. Also often features MedievalStasis.

Also known as "sword and sorcery", though there is much debate of the definition of these genres. Unkind souls have even described Heroic Fantasy as nothing but an upmarket term for Sword and Sorcery.

The odd tendency for {{anime}} to use HeroicFantasy settings with an obvious European flavor is noted under MedievalEuropeanFantasy.

Good live-action film and television fantasies can be counted on the fingers of one hand. Dying is easy. Fantasy is hard! On the other hand, roughly half of all [=RPGs=] ever written fall under this genre, if not more.

See also [=Wuxia=].
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!!Examples:

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder: Comic Books ]]

* ''{{Aquaman}}: Sword of Atlantis'' was an attempt to make the titular character's comic this genre.
* ''RedSonja.''

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Film ]]

* ''TheAdventuresOfSinbad''
* ''The Beastmaster'' (the movie, not the {{science fiction}} books it was [[AdaptationDecay based on]].)

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Literature ]]

* Alison Croggon's ''BooksOfPellinor''
* Lynn Flewelling's ''{{Nightrunner}}''
* {{David Gemmell}}'s books are a prime example.
* Robert E. Howard's ''ConanTheBarbarian''--although it bounces between "not very realistic" and "really really unrealistic" depending on the iteration.
* Christopher Paolini's ''TheInheritanceTrilogy''
* Patrick Rothfuss's ''[[TheNameOfTheWind The Kingkiller Chronicle]]''
* Norman Spinrad's ''TheIronDream'' (a {{Deconstruction}})
* The [[WarGod Bahzell]] series by DavidWeber.
* Michael Moorcock's ''TheElricSaga'' (another {{Deconstruction}}).
* Fritz Leiber's ''FafhrdAndTheGrayMouser.''
* Karl Edward Wanger's ''Kane.''
* C.L. Moore's ''Jirel of Joiry'', the first major female character in HeroicFantasy.
* Charles R. Saunders's ''Imaro.''
* ''TheBlackCompany''
*''TheMalazanBookOfTheFallen'' is basically a HeroicFantasy with a HighFantasy [[DoorStopper page count]]

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Live Action TV ]]

* ''[[HerculesTheLegendaryJourneys Hercules: The Legendary Journeys]]''
* ''{{Roar}}'' (pre-[[KingArthur Arthurian]] British Isles)
* ''[[XenaWarriorPrincess Xena: Warrior Princess]]''

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Manga ]]

* CrimsonSpell combines HeroicFantasy with BoysLove.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Tabletop Games ]]

* ''DungeonsAndDragons''. Though the game system is flexible enough that the enterprising DM can apply it to almost any {{fantasy}} subgenre, as printed it tends toward HeroicFantasy.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Video Games ]]

* ''{{Diablo}}''. Even if the game doesn't tend to be played this way, the story definitely falls into this category.
* ''TheLegendOfZelda''
* ''DragonAge''
* ''DemonsSouls''

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Western Animation ]]

* ''{{Fire and Ice}}''
* ''ThundarrTheBarbarian''
* ''AvatarTheLastAirbender'' fits many of these requirements.

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